Encouraging young people to sing Vi and Dam folk songs

(VOVworld) - Young performers dominated the 2012 Vi-Dam Folk Singing Festival held earlier this month in the central province of Nghe An. A majority of the participants were in their early 20s. The youngest was only 5 years old. VOV’s Phương Thúy and Thanh Hiền report:

Vi and Dam often reflect the work and cultural lives of people in the coastal provinces. (Photo: internet)

9-year-old Đinh Lê Thúy An of Nghe An province’s Nam Dan district won the Festival's second prize for her performance of vi and dam singing. Thuy An says she could sing vi and dam since her first year at primary school. She still is coached in vi and dam singing during school recesses by her teacher. An told us: "At first, it was very difficult for me to sing vi and dam but gradually, it has become much easier for me to sing the songs. I reserve recess times at school for practicing vi and dam as well as learning folk dances under the instruction of my teacher. I love folksongs with their nice lyrics and gentle rhythms. I’ve learnt by heart many tunes of Vi and Dam."

Vi and Dam, two kinds of folk music from the central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh, often reflect the work and cultural lives of people in the coastal provinces. The songs feature vocalists singing in a call and response pattern accompanied by castanets. Vi and Dam tunes are passed down orally from generation to generation, appearing popularly in mothers’ lullabies. Nguyễn Thị Phượng, a member of the Cẩm Mỹ folksong club of Hà Tĩnh province’s Cẩm Xuyên district, told us: "Vi and Dam folk songs have become very familiar to me through my mother’s lullabies since I was a small girl. I sang in the local art troupe during my teen years and was in charge of musical subjects in my secondary school. Now I’m studying at Pedagogy University and will become a teacher in the future but I won’t give up my passion for Vi and Dam folk singing."

The Vi folk club of Ha Tinh province’s Kỳ Anh district won the singing festival’s top prize. Head of the club Phan Đăng Thuận says Vi and Dam in particular and traditional folk songs in general are invaluable assets. Young people can only understand vi and dam once they understand the ancient words of the Nghe region’s folk songs, which are beautiful and meaningful and demand a sharp mind to sing in a call and response pattern. Phan Đăng Thuận told us: "My wife and I both belong to the club. When she was just 4, my daughter was taught to sing vi and dam by Cam, an artisan of this club. She can sing very well now."

Nghe An and Ha Tinh provincial authorities have paid much attention to organizing movements to encourage young people to sing vi and dam, including a program to integrate traditional folk songs into the school curriculum. Phan Thị Thu Huyền, Party Secretary of Nguyễn Trường Tộ high school in Vinh city, Nghe An province, says her school has founded a Vi and Dam folk singing club: "We have paid much attention to involving pupils in singing folk songs by operating a club which creates opportunities for them to practice singing folk songs under teacher instruction. We also organize vi and dam singing contests and performances, to spark student interests and participation, while supporting research and surveys on this subject."